


Boys In The Band

by whiteherewhitenow (FYWC)



Category: The Maccabees
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-03-25
Updated: 2013-06-03
Packaged: 2018-01-06 03:33:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 10,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1101894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FYWC/pseuds/whiteherewhitenow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>”The first time it happened was when they were 16. Orlando didn’t even fully understand it back then.” Nine times they denied it, one time they didn’t.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The First Time

Being best friends with Felix was a gift Orlando was really thankful for.

There were so many things he could only tell Felix. They spent most of their time together.

When they went to a club they always showed up together. Invitations from friends to their parties were always addressed to both of them.

In their Facebook-timeline you could only read sentences starting with: “Orlando and Felix” or “Felix and Orlando”.

They often became one person when they went grocery shopping for their families. One of them would always forget to take money and the other would forget the list of things they needed.

When they were together no one could forget a thing because the other one had already thought of it.

That’s why it never really felt weird when people assumed they were a couple.

And as you can imagine, it happened a lot.

The first time it happened was when they were 16. Orlando didn’t even fully understand it back then.

A friend of theirs, Robert, from a year higher than they were, celebrated his huge birthday party at his parents’ house. There were mostly people from his grade there. Felix and Orlando did only know a few of them, which didn’t really matter for both. They had each other in case no one would want to talk to them because they were the youngest party guests.

They were just happy to be part of this, they could sneak some beer and dance to Robert’s excellent choice of music. This was all they really needed when being only 16 years old.

Orlando had gone to get two more bottles of beer, while Felix talked to Robert’s best friend Rupert.

He strode the room looking at all the older people just admiring how cool the older boys looked. He himself wasn’t really fond of his outfit though Felix assured him it looked perfectly cool. Robert’s friends all dressed like rockstars and Orlando immediately knew he wanted to become one sooner or later.

When he entered the kitchen the three pretty girls standing around the table stopped laughing and smiled at him fondly. Shyly he gave the smile back and took two bottles out of the sink, where the beer stood in icy water to stay chilled.

“Hey,” the tiny brunette said and came over to Orlando who simply smiled again.

“My name’s Mary and who are you?,” she asked and Orlando only said his name. He was not good at small talk. And talking to girls in general.

“Oh that’s a pretty cool name. I never met an Orlando. Quite unique. There are tons of Marys, I really can’t stand it.”

Orlando faked a laugh. He wasn’t interested in talking to her. He couldn’t stand the name either and he also didn’t find her attractive. He just wanted to get back to Felix and get drunk with him.

“Are you a good friend of Robert? I haven’t seen you around, have I?”

Orlando knew that Robert had a sister and that was probably her.

“Well, we met at school. I’m also in the school band,” Orlando said and took a step aside, wanting to leave the girls.

“That is so cool. Let me guess…,” she said looking at Orlando from head to toe, “…you’re the lead singer!” She was right. Orlando didn’t know how she could have guessed that. He blushed and drove a hand through his hair.

“I try,” he simply said and made Mary giggle.

“Are you here with someone?,” she asked next and Orlando hesitated.

What did she mean with that question?

In that moment Felix came into the kitchen as well. Orlando sighed. He saved him again like so many times before.

“Felix!,” Orlando said smiling happily and gave him the second bottle.

“Oh, so you’re here with him?,” Mary asked again and Orlando nodded, still not knowing what she implied with asking that.

“So you’re a couple?,” Mary’s friends squeaked behind her. Orlando frowned.

“It was nice talking to you, but I guess we should head back now. I told Rupert we’ll be back in a minute!,” Felix said and grabbed Orlando’s arm, dragging him out and into the loud music in the living room.

“Thanks!,” Orlando said into Felix’s ear. He had to rise on tiptoe and before he could lose his balance because of the alcohol, Felix grabbed his waist to steady him.

“You’re welcome!,” he grinned and they danced this close for a while, not caring about the other people bumping into them because The Libertine’s ‘Boys in the band’ started playing.


	2. At A Family Party

The second time they got called a couple it was more obvious for Orlando to understand. Given that Felix’s grandpa always said exactly what came to his mind.

It was Felix’s 17th birthday. On the exact date he celebrated with his family. The real party for his friends would be happening the Saturday after.

Being his best friend, Orlando was invited to the family party, too. Felix said he didn’t need to come, but his mother, who Orlando loved as much as his own, wanted him to. He couldn’t say no to her.

Orlando showed up at the White House right after school with the birthday boy himself.

He wanted to help Mrs White in the kitchen preparing the birthday cake and dinner. He loved to cook with the White Family. His own mother didn’t let him do it at home because he actually wasn’t good at cutting vegetables and often forgot he had a pot on the stove.

Felix was not allowed to set a foot in the kitchen because his cake was supposed to be a surprise.

When his mother heard of Orlando’s art skills she immediately asked him to style Felix’s cake.

He laughed because how can somebody compare brush, colours and canvas to piping bag, food-colouring and cake. But as soon as she showed him thousands of ways to design cakes, cupcakes and cookies he was overwhelmed and agreed on it.

Together they decided on a cake showing Felix’s interests.

The chocolate cake was already done. Mrs White was just preparing the American butter cream which Orlando chose to become a light purple.

He was building and ‘drawing’ a melody on stave, a guitar and a microphone. The melody was one Felix would surely recognise if he looked carefully enough.

After the cake was ready, Hugo and William came into the kitchen to help them.

Orlando loved them like his own little brothers, probably a bit more because Hugo and Will didn’t interrupt him while playing Playstation or drawing.

He hugged them both hello and asked about their day before he left the kitchen so he could wash his hands and change into a tidy shirt.

Mrs White said she wouldn’t need his help anymore because Felix’s little brothers were there with her.

Orlando entered Felix’s room after washing his hands and face. His best friend must have taken Orlando’s bag with him because he couldn’t find it downstairs where he’d left it next to his shoes.

“Hey birthday boy!,” Lando said smiling and he only got a wide grin from Felix who sat on his bed with the laptop next to him.

“32 people already wished me a happy birthday on Facebook!,” he stated proudly and Orlando shook his head laughing slightly while unbuttoning his dirty white school uniform shirt.

Felix’s gaze went from the enlightened screen to his friend’s pale bare skin.

“I guess the girl from next door is staring right through that window with her mouth open, sexy boy!,” Felix joked and got up because he as well wanted to change into new clothes.

The smaller boy blushed a bit and hurried into his new dark blue shirt.

He looked to the window across from Felix’s and was lucky to find that there was nobody to be seen. Except for his best friend’s grandparents on the pavement right under the window.

Orlando was sure they had not been looking up though.

*

When they both went down fifteen minutes later ,the whole White Family was already seated around the huge dining table.

Felix’s seat was at the head of the table and Orlando found an empty seat to the left side of it, right next to Will, which he was really thankful for.

Felix said hi and introduced Orlando to his family when they both sat down.

“You’re the half naked boy whom I’ve seen through the window!,” the brothers’ beloved grandfather said and everybody raised their eyebrows. Orlando even turned a dark shade of pink.

Felix just tried to laugh it away but his grandpa had just started.

“I wondered if my grandson had become a homo without me noticing! Is he your boyfriend then?”

Not only Orlando’s face was deep red by now.

“Dad, leave it!,” Mr. White said.

In fact, at first he and his wife themselves had wondered the same when they first met Orlando, but they didn’t want to force their oldest son to say anything he didn’t want to. Later they realised that they would probably have heard strange sounds coming through their son’s door more often than that one time he had a girl up there.

“No, no, gramp, we’re only the bestest of friends!,” Felix answered when he caught himself and was smiling again like he always did.

Mrs White cleared her throat and tried to change the subject.

“I’m gonna get the cake so that we can start this birthday properly!”

She hastily left the table and came back only seconds later with the huge and heavy cake.

Felix sat there with rising eyes and a smile that looked even bigger and happier than his usual one.

Orlando felt proud. Felix seemed to like it.

When his mum placed it right in front of Felix, he was speechless.

“Orlando!,” he eventually got out of his suddenly dry mouth. He touched the older boy’s shoulder and looked at him with his shiny blue eyes. Orlando could read every emotion out of them. Right now there was a huge thanks to be seen. But also something he would later interpret as admiration. For his work on the cake and also him as a best friend and person in general.

“Why is it purple?,” Mr. White senior asked his daughter-in-law, “I thought he wasn’t a homo!”

It suddenly fell silent again. Orlando wanted to sink under the table and never come up again. He’d never felt so embarassed in his life before.

“I chose the colour, I thought it fit perfectly with the different shades of the chocolate!,” he admitted and looked at Felix, hoping he would not mind the colour.

“I like it!,” Felix said grinning again. “It’s perfect, Land! You displayed all the stuff I like! Oh my god! Don’t tell me this is the melody of ‘Boys in the band’!? You are amazing! Thank you so much!”

Orlando couldn’t help but smile. He knew Felix would find this out.

When Felix suddenly reached over the edge of the table and dragged Orlando into a hug, he could hear his grandfather mumble something again but he couldn’t care less in this moment.

Orlando was the best friend he could imagine and it didn’t matter that people thought they were a couple. Actually they kind of were. Felix was sure of that!


	3. Going Shopping

The days were getting warmer again. You could actually leave the house without hat and gloves.

Felix decided it was right about time to get some new clothes.

Of course he chose to take Orlando with him. Even though the older boy didn’t even care for fashion. At least he would be honest about what looked good and what not. And Felix had someone to talk to. He couldn’t stand being alone and having no conversation at all.

They took the train to the nearest shopping centre. Orlando never really liked shopping but he wanted Felix to be a happy bunny, so he went with him anyway.

Felix also only trusted his best friend when it came to choosing his outfit. Orlando wasn’t sure he even had a sense of fashion but Felix assured him otherwise all the time.

They entered the first store and went to the small men’s section. Orlando looked around and couldn’t find a thing he would like Felix to wear.

“May I help you guys?,” a young woman asked and Felix returned her smile charmingly.

She fell for Felix right away. Orlando could see it in her eyes. He felt a weird sting of jealousy in his little heart but shoved it aside.

“I need some new trousers and shirts for the summer,” Felix told her and the shop assistant led them to a clothing rack.

She showed them different kinds of trousers. Felix seemed to like every single item.

“What do you think, Land?,” he asked holding two pairs of black trousers in front of Orlando’s face.

“I don’t like them,” he simply said and the happiness from both Felix’s and the woman’s face vanished.

“Well, is it the colour or the cut of it? You could try some chinos or skinny jeans!?,” she offered but Orlando wasn’t even sure what bothered him. He probably didn’t want that girl to choose an outfit for his best friend.

“You should try some of them on. I need to see them on your body,” Orlando said and Felix blushed slightly.

Orlando took four trousers and the assistant grabbed some shirts for Felix to try on.

The taller boy went into the changing room and tried the first outfit.

While Orlando was waiting outside with that blonde girl, he could feel her looking at his face.

He lifted his chin and waited for Felix to come out.

Some minutes later he stepped out of the cubicle with black skinny jeans and a red denim shirt.

“It fits perfectly!,” the shop assistant said and Felix smiled at her thankfully before looking at his best friend.

“No, no. Red is not good at all! You should wear more blue, this would be best to highlight your eyes!”

Felix grinned. Orlando knew best about colour matching and stuff so he put the shirt off and tried another.

He didn’t bother pulling the curtain closed so Orlando watched him curiously.

When Felix did the buttons wrong for the second time in a row, Orlando went in and helped him.

Felix shivered at the touch of the cold fingers on his chest, but he hoped the older boy wouldn’t notice.

“I really liked the red one better!,” the saleswoman chimed in again.

Felix didn’t listen to her this time. He looked down into Orlando’s eyes and waited for a sign.

“It’s perfect! You should take it! Turn around!,” Orlando ordered and Felix did so.

Lando really didn’t want to check out his friend’s bum but that was part of his consulting role right now.

“I like the trousers, too!,” he said and stepped out of the changing room again.

“Okay, I take ‘em!,” Felix said with a wide grin.

“Well, your boyfriend has to know what’s best!,” the shop assistant told them smirking slightly.

Orlando immediately blushed.

“I… I’m not his…,” he stuttered.

“We’re not a couple!,” Felix answered hastily.

“Oh, I see… sorry!”

There was a moment of awkward silence broken by the woman again.

“I’ll take the unwanted clothes. You can change back and meet me at the counter.”

She winked and hurried away with the clothes over her arm.


	4. At A Restaurant

It was Orlando’s 18th birthday. Normally, kids would want to celebrate it with a huge house party or they would rent a club room.

But not Orlando.

He only had five friends who he really wanted to celebrate his birthday with.

So he decided to have a nice dinner with Sam, Felix and his little brother Hugo, who wasn’t old enough to go clubbing anyway. Afterwards they would go to an indie-music playing club, which Robert and Rupert liked.

Hugo would go back home and the three of them would meet the other two boys there.

Felix wanted to sleep over at Orlando’s so he arrived there earlier so he didn’t have to take all his stuff when going out.

Together they took the train downtown to a middle-class Italian restaurant.

Orlando loved Italian food and really wanted to visit this country some day.

They had a table reserved for eight o’clock.

Felix and Orlando arrived a bit earlier and they already got to sit down at their table. Sam and Hugo would be late anyway, they knew them too well.

That’s why Orlando ordered something to drink. They decided on red wine. Orlando was 18 now, so he could legally afford it. And what better way could one celebrate their 18th birthday?

The waiter wanted them to already choose a dish but they said they would wait for their friends.

After fifteen minutes the waiter asked again. The answer of Felix and Orlando was still the same.

Orlando felt a little sad. It was his birthday after all. Did his friends forget about it?

When he looked up into Felix’s clear blue eyes and saw the smile in them, he almost forgot about the other boys.

The one in front of him was his best friend and he really didn’t need anyone else to have a great evening!

Orlando smiled again and took a sip of his wine, blushing slightly as he realised how long he had stared at Felix.

The waiter must have noticed it as well. He brought a candle for their table and lit it with the words: “It’s more romantic this way!”

Felix laughed nervously at the remark. He hoped nobody had realised the tension in his voice though.

Another fifteen minutes later Orlando got a text from Sam, saying that he had something to do with his mum and would meet them at the club, too.

The birthday boy sighed, he wanted his 18th birthday to be a special one.

“We shouldn’t wait for Hugo either, he won’t be here anytime soon, I guess. I’m glad though. This way I can have you for my own for some more time!,” Felix winked trying to cheer Orlando up.

He didn’t realize what it must have sounded like until it was already out. He wanted to blame the red wine for it, but knew that there was a part of him that didn’t want to share Orlando with anyone.

They both turned red and looked away. Felix cleared his throat and waved at the waiter.

They were ready to order something to eat, finally! He was starving.

“Sorry for interrupting your date again, guys!,” the waiter said some moments later as they were waiting for their dishes to arrive.

“Oh, no, we’re–,” Orlando started but the young man didn’t seem to notice.

“Are you sure those friends of yours are still coming? We could really use this table!”

Felix smiled. “Sure, you can take it. We’re staying alone this evening!”

The waiter grinned at them. “It’s better this way, isn’t it? Those double dates are lame anyway!”

“We’re not on a date!,” Felix said embarassed and a little too loud. The elderly couple to his right shot him a disgusted look.

“Oh, you sure?,” the waiter asked. Orlando wanted to sink under the table _again_. Felix simply nodded an answer.

“That’s a pity! You two look gorgeous together! Just so you know, there are so many possibilities these days for a homosexual couple, you could even adopt children!”

Orlando coughed. He really didn’t like the direction where this conversation was heading.

The waiter seemed to notice and left them.

They remained silent for a while, avoiding eye contact.

“Sorry boys, did I miss something?,” Hugo chimed in with red cheeks and a grin that reminded Orlando of his best friend.

The three of them laughed and Orlando felt relieved.

He was 18 now and got to celebrate it with the nicest boys in the world.

What more could he wish for?


	5. Looking At Flats

Felix and Orlando were both 18 by now. School had ended some months ago and their free time was spent with band practices. The boys had gotten better and had already written three songs.

However, the summer was almost over and they both wanted to study.

Felix decided to stay in London, Orlando couldn’t wait to be on his own in Brighton.

The only thing standing in the way was a place to sleep. Orlando hadn’t cared about looking at any flats yet. He had no idea about suitable prices and sizes. Luckily, Felix had.

So they both went to Brighton for a weekend. It was the one right before Orlando’s birthday, so they stayed at a cheap hostel for the whole weekend. This way they would be able to visit some clubs in Brighton and maybe Orlando would even find some new friends.

Felix was scared about losing Orlando. He promised to come home every weekend for band practices, but who knew how long he’d really be able to do so?

They left their stuff at the hostel, where they shared a dorm with three other guys. Grabbing some food on the way, they went to see the first flat.

Orlando wanted a studio apartment. He might move into another flat when he’d found some friends who he liked to live with.

The older boy absorbed everything he saw. He really enjoyed Brighton. The city was beautiful and he liked every flat they’d looked at so far. He didn’t care about anything in particular, after all.

The only thing he really craved for was being away from his parents and all the people who kept asking him whether he had a girlfriend or not, which really was the last thing on his mind.

Felix seemed to know everything that was important when choosing a flat, though. He asked intelligent questions and Orlando caught himself staring fondly at the younger boy. In fact, it had happened a lot lately, but he was sure it was caused by the sadness of soon having to leave his best friend behind.

The fourth flat they looked at was bigger than the others, while having the same price and even Orlando knew that this was a good sign.

The man showing them the flat looked at them in a weird way, which made them both feel very unwelcome. However, the flat seemed perfect!

“This is supposed to be the bedroom, right?,” Felix asked and the elderly man nodded grumpily.

“Land, you should make it your workroom instead! Cause the sun shines in longer on this side of the flat!,” Felix added and looked at his best friend, who nodded with a wide grin.

Orlando was so glad that he’d taken Felix with him.

“The rest seems fine for me. What do you think, Lando?”

“I love it!,” Orlando shouted and earned a wholehearted smile from his friend.

“Who signs the contract?,” the man asked and the boys frowned.

“Him of course!,” Felix said,. “He’s going to live here, who else would sign it?”

The landlord shifted around nervously.

“I thought you two were going to live here…as a couple, you know?”

Orlando blushed and sighed at himself. He should really be used to this by now. After all it wasn’t the first time someone thought that and he could understand the way it must have looked for the man.

Felix answered a little bit too harshly in Orlando’s opinion, but he was probably just nervous, too.

“We’re not gay!”

“I’m so sorry!,” the landlord hastily said. “Fill this one out, boy, and send it to me, okay?”

Orlando nodded and talked some things through with his new landlord.

Felix took a few steps back and sighed. He really wanted to live here with Orlando, but after all they weren’t a couple. Yet.


	6. Going Clubbing

One year later, they were still best friends and Orlando had really managed to attend all the band practices. During the summer they recorded an EP and they even played some shows in London.

Felix and Orlando had two more weeks left before they needed to go back to uni. They decided to spend the time together, as usual.

The first week they stayed in London with their families and friends. Since Felix’s brother Hugo wasn’t underage anymore, they went to clubs with him most of the time. It was fine, because Hugo was the coolest younger brother you could think of. He chatted up more girls on one evening than Felix and Orlando ever had their whole lives.

The second week they drove to Brighton. Orlando now lived in a flat with three other art students. They celebrated a huge party at the flat on Felix’s first evening in Brighton. There was a lot of alcohol and a lot of weed involved and Felix felt better being around Orlando’s friends than around his own friends at uni. They were open-minded and witty and so good at everything they did. Felix felt far more creative around them, which probably had something to do with the weed as well…

Orlando showed him around the town the next day and they stayed home with his flat mates cooking and doing covers of stupid pop songs.

'The Freebutt' was the weird name of the club, where Orlando wanted to party the next evening. Felix laughed the whole day at just the thought of it and when he finally stood in front of it, he bursted out into a loud laughter. Everyone looked at them with a smile. Felix's laugh was infectious. Orlando chimed in and felt happier than he had ever felt when being in Brighton. After all he was here with his best friend.

They went to the bar and ordered whiskey.

After lighting two cigarettes for them, Felix looked around, leaning back against the bar.

“The music is really good!,” he said and blew the smoke in Orlando’s face.

“It’s my favourite club here, the people are fine, too!” Most people in Brighton were nice and cool, Orlando thought, especially because there weren’t so many homophobic pricks!

They stood there for a while, just observing the dancing crowd. Both of them weren’t good dancers, they would need some more drinks to feel courageous enough, so they enjoyed staying in the safe zone, where they could order any drink they wanted.

After two glasses of whiskey and a half bottle of beer, Felix took a step closer to Orlando, their shoulders and hips were touching and it sent a tingling sensation through the smaller boy’s body.

Orlando wanted to say something into Felix’s ear over the loud music but he was stopped by Felix’s face that was so close to his own now.

Felix drew back as Orlando kept looking at him. He wanted to kiss his best friend on the cheek and that was all, but as he looked into his beautiful brown eyes he wanted so much more!

He drowned his bottle and ordered another. He didn’t understand where those feelings were coming from but he felt good about it.

The best friends stayed in silence for another few minutes, thinking about what they were feeling and what they were supposed to do next when suddenly the crowed cheered at the intro of the next song.

Felix put his bottle away and took the last drag of his cigarette, then took Orlando’s hand pulling him onto the dancefloor.

“Boys in the band!,” he screamed “That’s our tune, Land! We gotta dance!”

Orlando smiled and let himself be dragged by the younger boy right into the centre of the dancing mob.

They both thought of the party at Robert’s four years ago. Back then they were dancing slowly, holding each other tightly, because they were drunk and didn’t know how to cope with it, because they were oh so young.

Now they danced and screamed like there was no tomorrow. They didn’t care that some people were probably laughing at them for their stupid dance moves, after all the only thing on their mind was the other boy.

They didn’t even realise that some people were forming a circle around them and watched them enjoying the music. Felix played the best air guitar, after all he really knew how to play this song.

The whole club chimed in at the chorus but Felix and Orlando were louder than the rest. They sang with all their heart almost screaming at the top of their lungs.

“And they all get them out for,” Felix sang looking at Orlando expectantly.

“They all get them out,” The smaller boy answered with a smile. They knew how to perform this song.

“For the boys in the band,” Felix screamed and his best friend replied with his beautiful singing voice. “Only for the boys in the band.”

“They twist and they shout for-”- “Twist and scream and shout.”

“For the boys in the band.” - “Only for the boys in the band.”

They grinned at each other and started playing the air guitar again.

When the song ended they fell into each other’s arms, holding their best friend as tightly as they could. They both felt the fear of losing each other but after all they had managed to uphold their friendship during the last year, why wouldn’t they be able to do it another year?!

They didn’t care for the next songs that was playing. Still embraced, the crowd swallowed them again and went back to minding their own business.

“I need another drink!,” Orlando said with a hoarse voice caused by the loud singing. Felix grabbed his hand again and they took their former spot at the bar. Smoking and drinking they watched the crowd again in an awkward silence. They both tried to figure out the tension that was still between them. How far could they go to not destroy their beautiful friendship?

“Cheers, guys!,” a man next to them at the bar said smiling at them. “You were great! Are you in a band?”

Orlando blushed. He knew people had been watching them but he had ignored it.

“Yeah, we’re in a band. We’ve only played in London so far. That’s where we’re from!,” Felix told being as charming as always.

The older boy felt left out. And a little bit jealous, too.

“Oh, so you’re here because of the gay scene, right? Brighton is a good place!”

Orlando’s face turned a dark shade of pink, Felix just laughed it away, he was used to it by now!

“Actually, no, we’re not a couple or something. Orlando studies here and I’m here to visit my best friend.”

“Oh my god!,” the guy shouted, clasping a hand over his mouth. “I’m so sorry, guys! I really thought that … I mean, almost everyone seemed to think so. You had that look in your eyes that only lovers have!”

Felix swallowed visibly. He had felt that look, too. But what did Orlando think?

“It’s okay, it’s not the first time it happened! We seem to have a very special friendship and a deep connection,” Orlando said and the guy nodded. As he saw that look in their eyes again, he left them without another word. Felix and Orlando didn’t realise it anyway, they were sunk into each other’s gaze again.

Felix broke their eye contact after a minute, because he finished his fag. He pulled his best friend by his hand again because he spotted a free sofa. It was big enough for both of them but they snuggled close to each other anyway.

“I really enjoyed singing that song!,” Felix said into Orlando’s ear. His hot breath made the latter shiver.

“Yeah, me too! I also love it here with you. It’s different than with my friends. I mean, they’re not you!,” Orlando mumbled. He hated himself for always saying what was in his head.

“We do have a special friendship, don’t we?,” Felix asked and sat up a bit so he could look down into Orlando’s innocent face.

He just nodded and closed his eyes. He wanted it now! He needed it! And Felix felt the same, he was sure of that.

When he finally felt the soft lips on his own, his heart seemed to jump right out of his chest. It felt good and new but also very familiar because it was Felix kissing him.

They younger boy deepened their kiss by grabbing Orlando’s neck and pulling him closer. He wondered why they had never done that before, it felt so much better than with any girl – or boy! - he had ever kissed. He was surprised Orlando made the next move by sliding his tongue over Felix’s lips, but the latter one was glad and let the soft tongue in, feeling a new wave of joy rushing through his body.

They didn’t know how long they’d been sitting there, but they knew some people saw them and said things like “I knew it!”. They didn’t stop kissing when leaving the club and especially not when they were finally at Orlando’s place, falling onto his bed their tongues still entwined and their bodies pressed as close to each other as possible.

This week in Brighton took their friendship to a new level.


	7. Buying Condoms

It happened again 3 months later when Orlando was back in town to celebrate Christmas with the family.

He hung out with Felix all the time, nothing had changed between them, though there was still this tension that had built up when they had danced to ‘Boys in the band’. There was some more looking and some more touching but their friendship was intact. That was all that mattered.

When the boys were out in the town to do their annual last-minute Christmas shopping Felix got a call from his brother Hugo.

"What’s wrong, Hu?," Felix asked already alarmed because his brother never called unless it was very important.

"You’re shopping, right? Can you get something for me, please?," Hugo begged. Felix stopped to fully concentrate on what his brother was saying. It was so very loud in the shopping centre and you had to take extra care to not bump into all those people.

Orlando didn’t know what to do so he just looked around in the windows of all those girly shops, thinking that these clothes were disgusting and being glad that Felix had a good taste in clothing.

"What is it, brother?"

"I need condoms," Hugo said and he didn’t knew his brother would ever feel uncomfortable about such a thing.

"But I’m with Orlando," Felix mumbled and looked around for his best friend who stood some feet away.

Hugo laughed through the speakers. “Oh, I forgot you guys snogged and now everything’s awkward, right?”

"Nothing is awkward, Hugo!," Felix told his brother. Orlando had come back to his friend and now looked at him questioningly. Felix smiled and sunk deep into Orlando’s brown eyes.

"I’m gonna get this for you, promise to be home tonight. I wanna talk to my little brother again," Felix commanded and hung up. He knew Hugo wanted to go out this evening, otherwise he wouldn’t need condoms, but for getting your brother and his best friend into another of those couple-moments he had to pay, Felix thought.

"I need to catch something for Hugo at some Tesco on the way," Felix said and went on adjusting his speed to this of the window-shopping people.

When they entered the Tesco Felix swallowed. Orlando finally asked what Hugo needed.

"Oh he erm… wants me to get condoms. For him, of course. He’s seeing girls all the time, you know,“ Felix tried to explain and blushed. This was one of the few times Orlando actually saw Felix being embarassed. He knew the latter one only felt uncomfortable with this situation because of what had happened in Brighton. They both didn’t know what to do. They felt close to each other, of course, they always had, but it had nothing to do with sex when there was no alcohol involved.

„Okay, let’s do it. I really wanna go home then. My feet hurt!,“ Orlando said very keen to get this over with.

They strode through the Tesco but they couldn’t find anything, especially not next to the sanitary pads where they both had epxected them and also not even close to the nappies probably because if you buy nappies you won’t need condoms, it’s too late then anyway.

Felix went to the cashier, a young girl around 18 years old. With a low voice he asked where he could find condoms. He wouldn’t even be concerned to whisper it normally, after all it was nothing to be embarassed of. But this situation wasn’t normal, he was here with his best friend whom he had kissed some months ago and behind him was a mother with her daughter who kept staring at Felix.

„What do you need?,“ The girl asked and showed to her left, where they kept the amount of condoms and lube and stuff, right there in front of his face, right there at the counter so that everyone waiting in line would think about STD’s and birth controls and would guiltily take one packet.

„Did you find it?,“ Orlando asked out of breath from running through the whole Tesco. Felix didn’t answer he just pointed at the shelf in front of him, where the condoms where stuck next to chewing gum and jelly belly’s.

„Oh.“ Orlando blushed again. „What do you… What does Hugo need?“

Felix swallowed visibly and took a packet of standard ones from durex. He didn’t care and didn’t even want to know what kind of condoms Hugo preferred so he didn’t bother calling him. He wanted to get out of this situation as soon as possible.

The cashier girl smiled at them. „You sure, you don’t need lube?,“ She asked with a wink and Felix coughed. He didn’t expect that to happen.

They could hear the mother behind them in the line talking to her daughter. „Stay away from them, honey. Don’t touch anyhing. Those gays spread infections and other diseases.“

„It’s not like that,“ Felix answered and avoided looking at his best friend.

„We’re not a couple and we’re only buying them for a friend!,“ Orlando said and blushed seconds later. He didn’t want to say that out loud.

Felix held out some money to speed the process up and the girl took it.

„Have a nice evening, boys!,“ She said when they could finally leave that Tesco again. The packet of condoms still on their minds and in the bag full of Christmas presents that Felix swung between them.


	8. At A Concert

Those art school boys were weird, Felix knew, but they were such party animals and Felix had witnessed that, too. However, he hadn’t expected this kind of show when Orlando had invited him to a concert of some friends’ band called ‘La Shark’. The name had made Felix laugh and he gladly said yes, he would come.

He arrived at the club a little bit too early. It didn’t bother himbecause he really craved a cigarette anyway. He lighted it and inhaled feeling better with every drag. He was nervous. Orlando and him hadn’t met in a while because they both had had their exams. And after all the last time he had been in Brighton had ended in snogging each other senseless and he had to admit he really wanted it to happen again. So when Orlando came, Felix’s heart jumped heavily up and down. They hugged and held on for too long, then they went inside and Felix met the band.

The guys were nice and funny but also the weirdest of Orlando’s friends that Felix had met yet. Orlando was their tech for this show so when they started playing Felix stood in front of the stage on his own, surrounded by even stranger art students. He longed to be on stage himself and he also longed to be with his best friend, who smiled at him from time to time.

Felix enjoyed the show though. The music was good and danceable and the lyrics were so funny and the stage show by their singer Samuel was unbelievable!

When they first left the stage the crowd didn’t stop cheering so they came back for an encore.

"Thank you very much!," Samuel said with a wide grin. "We want to play a cover song now for our good friend Orlando, who was a wonderful tech tonight!"

Felix hadn’t even realised that Orlando had left the stage. He stood next to him now and grabbed his hand and squeezed it strongly before letting go again.

"Orlando wanted us to play this song for him and his handsome friend Felix from London." The crowd cheered and everyone looked at them.

Felix knew what they’d play and laughingly shook his head at Orlando. “You are crazy!,” he screamed and hugged his friend while La Shark started playing ‘Boys in the band’. They danced and screamed like they did that night in Brighton. For the last chorus the band wanted them on stage and each of them got a microphone.

"And they all get them out for," Felix sang while only  _looking_  at Orlando. The smaller boy answered: “They all get them out.”

"For the boys in the band," Felix smiled spreading his arms to point out the boys in La Shark.

"Only for the boys in the band," was Orlando’s reply and he winked at Samuel before he hastily looked back at his best friend, it was their song after all.

"They scream and they shout for-" The crowd got especially wild at this point. "Twist and scream and shout."

"For the boys in the band." - "Only for the boys in the band."

The song ended and they got a huge amount of applause.

"Thank you," Felix said. He loved to be on stage and he felt so energetic. God, he relly missed playing shows.

"These two beauties have a band called ‘The Maccabees’, you should check them out!," Samuel said when he got his mic back. "And now, boys, you can go backstage and make love to each other. You can use our couch or the showers. We know that’s everything that’s on your mind right now!"

"Sam, I told you we’re not a couple!," Orlando squealed and everyone laughed.

"Oh honey, exactly this behaviour makes us believe it even more!"

Felix laughed. He wasn’t embarassed like his best friend was and to please the crowd, he grabbed Orlando’s face and pulled him into a kiss. They both thought they should start doing this more often.


	9. After A Drunken Night

During the summer in which they both turned 21, writing songs in Orlando’s bedroom in both his flat in Brighton and in his parent’s house in London became a common thing. And it also became an euphemism for making-out. Even their friends and bandmates and especially Felix’s brother Hugo tolerated this. In fact they all had a bet on.

However, writing songs in Orlando’s bedroom had always stayed at the making-out stage of their friendship when there was merely too much alcohol in their veins.

The last night had been different though. The whole band had turned up at the Weeks’ house and of course Robert had brought not only a good and strong whiskey but also weed. Needless to say that they didn’t write one song that evening but rather played stupid games on Orlando’s old playstation.

When Felix woke up the next day, he couldn’t remember a thing. He didn’t even know why he was at Orlando’s rather than his and Hugo’s own flat.

He ran his hands over his face and through hishair and rolled to his side so that he could look at his best friend and he shot a glance over Orlando’sshoulders on the untidy floor of the room.

"What have we done?," he laughed quietly and looked down at Orlando again, who had already opened his eyes. Felix swallowed, because, damn, his friend was really sexy in his bed hair and swollen lips, his drunk expression and sleepy eyes.

"I don’t remember a thing!," Orlando exclaimed and buried his pretty face in his pillow. His back hurt from lying in the small bed with Felix. But the pain seemed to not stop at his lower back and this made him worry.

Felix rolled over Orlando to get out of the bed. He really needed something to drink, his mouth felt so dry.

When he stood in front of the bed, he realised that he wasn’t wearinga single thing, not even his pants. Orlando blushed as he stared at Felix’s bare arse and felt down his own body only to realise that he was naked, too.

"Oh god, what happened?," Felix mumbled and this time his laugh didn’t sound so cheerful.

Hastily he put on some clothes and vanished into the bathroom.

Orlando bumped his head against the wall three times, because he finally knew what had happened.

He stood up himself and slid into new clothes, when Felix came back into his room.

"Good morning," the taller boy said with blushed cheeks. Orlando had never seen him so shy, he must have realised it, too.

"Do you want to eat breakfast or go home or …," Orlando asked. It had never felt so weird between them before. Now they felt like strangers who had had a one-night stand.

"Breakfast’d be fine, thanks. I love eating breakfast at your house! Your mum makes the best eggs!," Felix answered and was his carefree and charming self again. Orlando had always admired his best friend for this.

They smiled at each other and went down into the kitchen. Orlando still couldn’t get used to the fact that he was at his parents’ house and not in his own flat and he didn’t even want to get used to the pain in his arse…

When they got into the room the Weeks family was still sitting there like they had already awaited them.

"Good morning," Felix cheered and grinned around, he loved Orlando’s family. He always had. And especially his little brother Matt was a very cool guy who really loved to party. Shame that he liked different music though, Feix thought.

"How are you, boys?," Mrs. Weeks asked and poured Orlando a cup of tea, while Mr Weeks got Felix a mug of coffee.

"Fine, thanks," Felix answered and looked at his best friend. "Last night went a bit out of control, I guess. I hope we didn’t bother you!"

Orlando blushed and couldn’t stop thinking about how his mother probably mentally referred to Fe as her son-in-law. Because, goddammit, he was gorgeous and every mum seemed to want him as her in-law.

"Oh, boys, it’s okay, you’re old enough! We’re just glad that we keep seeing Lando and his nice bunch of friends," his mum told them and Orlando wanted to sink under the table, his mother had always been this embarrassing!

"My parents are so glad that my brothers and I are still in town, I fully understand you, Mrs Weeks. And I’m also very glad that Land keeps visiting us. Brighton’s very cool after all!," Felix replied and took a sip of his coffee while looking at his best friend. There was that look again. The one they had already shared back in Brighton before they had kissed for the first time.

"Well a long-distance relationship must be really hard!," Mr Weeks suddenly said and he made his son swallow up his tea so that he coughed heavily. His wife sent him a death glare and he drew his attention back to the newspaper. Matt simply laughed at the boys for acting so shocked. Indeed even Felix hadn’t been prepared for this so he just drop ped his toast onto his trousers.

"Well sorry, guys, we had agreed on waiting for you to tell us. But after we all heard what happened in your room last night … Lando, why haven’t you told us earlier? It’s not a problem to be gay and you know how much we love Felix!"

"Mum!," Orlando squealed and nearly fainted. He couldn’t believe he was actually having this conversation. He tried to say something but the words couldn’t slip past his lips so he just sat there staring at his hands instead and let Felix do the talking. He was better at it anyway.

"We are not a couple. You got it wrong and we’re sorry that you had to hear whatever we did last night. But it’s good to know for the both of us that you would tolerate a relationship!,“ Felix said as calm as always. How was that even possible?, Orlando wondered.

"Come on, bro! Just admit it! You guys are totally in love with each other! I’ve seen you snog under a mistletoe last Christmas and you did it last weekend when I came into your room to get my laptop back, you brokelump. Seriously you need to get one for yourself, Lands," Matt chimed in and everyone looked at him.

"But we’re still only friends!," Orlando finally found his voice back. He saw Felix nodding from the side and his dad seemed to shake his head behind the papers.

"Why do you do such stuff then? When I was young we would at least admit we were lovers or something!," Mrs Weeks protested _._

"It’s called friends with benefits, innit Land?," Felix said with a wink and Orlando agreed.

They ate their breakfast in silence and when they said good-bye at the door an hour later they kissed again. They all knew now anyway and it just felt too good not todo it!

"We’re still only friends, right?," Orlando asked and Felix tried to smile.

"Friends with benefits!"

Felix left with his head full of thoughts and his heart full of feelings he couldn’t quite understand and he left Orlando alone with his own and a bonus sore butt.


	10. On Holiday

Felix and Orlando both got their degree and they wanted to take a break from studying afterwards.

The best friends decided to go on a holiday trip. They didn’t want to stay in Britain but after all they hadn’t had a proper job yet and they still didn’t earn enough money with their band to go to some far away place like Japan. Felix came up with the idea to go to Italy. Orlando was delighted. He had always wanted to go to Italy and of course Felix knew. He was the bestest friend Orlando could think of.

So they both landed in Rome in their summer break only packed with the most vital things like toothbrushes, sun screen, short and summery clothes and a pair of swimming trunks.

On their first night in Rome they stayed in a middle-class hotel with breakfast included. They got a room with a king-size bed and they were absolutely content with it. Felix decided that they should savour it because who knew if they would get another chance to spend a night so close to each other on the rest of their tour. Needless to say that Orlando loved the idea and so they spent their night shagging like the happy bunnies they were.  
The next day they visited the city and the most important sights with their packed rucksack and then took a night train north to Florence.

The boys stayed in a youth hostel for two nights and shared a dorm with three other boys.   
On their first day in Florence they did all of the important tourists stuff. They visited the ‘Piazza della Signoria’ and the famous bridge ‘Ponte Vecchio’ and some of the beautiful churches and ‘palazze’. They ate dinner at a typical Italian restaurant that a receptionist at the hostel had recommended. Italian food had always been Orlando’s favourite and he loved it even more now.

"I can’t believe how great the pasta was and the pizza, too! That’s so much better than the English food!," Orlando kept babbling about and Felix always smiled at him fondly.

They spent the second day with some other tourists they had met in the hostel and they stayed out the whole night getting drunk. Luckily their check out was due til 1 pm, so they made it in time and still caught their train to Garda. Still hungover they spent the day at the Lake Garda just lying in the sun all day and only standing up to refresh themselves in the cold water. They exchanged a lot of casual touches and caresses and Orlando was suddenly very keen on getting his back creamed by his best friend. Felix didn’t mind though, he loved having Orlando so close.

They were glad to be out of their country for a while all on their own; only the two of them in a country where they didn’t understand a single thing and so far away that they couldn’t bump into anyone they knew. When the sun set and the pink sky above them painted the lake in lovely colours they snuggled up close with their arms around each other. Observing the beautiful sunset they stole soft kisses from each other from time to time. They stayed at the lake until it was already dark outside and when they made their way back to the hostel they held each other’s hand. The other boys in their room were already asleep so they cuddled into one of the tiny beds together. They didn’t care about what the other people would think, they had never done that!

When Felix woke up the next morning he heard someone talking but he couldn’t understand it. He turned away from Orlando, who grumpily shifted as the tight embrace had stopped. As the boys realised that Felix was awake they stopped talking and instead looked at him with a frown.

"Morning, guys!," Felix said with his usual smile. He knew the guys had been talking about him and Orlando and mentally he simply laughed at their homophobia and intolerance while he left for the bathroom. He chose not to tell Orlando though because he could sometimes be quite bitchy about such things and he took everything very much to heart.

After they had had breakfast at the hostel they wandered about the city for some hours until they took a train to Verona, where they checked in at the hostel and then left it to spend another night in Italian clubs and bars. On their second day in the city of Verona they did some sightseeing again. Orlando and Felix were very impressed by the huge arena and they couldn’t stop themselves from writing cheesy letters to Juliet when they were at the house where Romeo’s lover had lived. They looked for a balcony-like thing where they could take stupid photos of themselves as the famous couple.

When they were back in the hostel they shared a bed again and this time they had a room to themselves so they stayed up all night talking and giggling about all the photos of the trip they had already taken.

The next morning they made their way to the last train station from where they drove to Venice. Felix wanted the City of Love to be their last destination. Orlando hadn’t even thought about the romantic reputation the city had. Felix on the other hand had everything planned out. On the first day he wanted to visit the sights and the huge museum on St Mark’s Square. The second day he wanted to take Orlando through the town along the channels and over the many beautiful bridges. He really hoped his best friend wouldn’t want to go by gondola because they were way too expensive for both of them. After that he wanted to take Orlando out to a romantic restaurant because he finally wanted to ask him to become his boyfriend. They didn’t even try to not kiss or shag anymore and act like normals friends and Felix was so sure now that he was actually in love with the older boy, that he had probably always loved him and nobody else.

However, when they checked in at the quite expensive hotel Felix had booked it didn’t go according to Felix’s plan.

"I’m sorry, Mr. White, we only have a twin room left for you," the receptionist said with a knowing look at Felix.

"It’s okay, it’s not like we’re a couple or something…," Orlando answered and looked at his best friend. He swallowed hard as he saw that this was the first time he acted cool about it and Felix actually blushed.

Felix shook his head and his carefree self came back. “It doesn’t matter really, thank you and goodbye!” Hastily he grabbed the keys and hurried into the lift with Orlando close behind.

"Oh god, Felix! I’m so sorry!," Orlando whispered and hugged his best friend, "I didn’t know you had actually planned this!"

Felix laughed and stroked over the smaller boy’s back. “I didn’t want you to know this, stupid.”

When they were in their huge room, Felix fell on one of the comfortable beds. It was way too small for his liking. He closed his eyes for some seconds and let the disappointment work on him for a bit.

Orlando realised that he had really hurt his best friend with this. He crawled over Felix’s body and sat on his lap.

Felix opened his eyes to see Orlando’s face right in front of his own. The latter one made his ‘I’m so sorry!’ face with the big puppy eyes and a pout. Felix couldn’t be angry at him anyway.

"It’s okay, our time in Venice will be awesome anyway! You were just so sure about it and it hurt because -" Felix stopped and bit his lip. Should he tell Orlando right away?

"Well, I wanted to wait until tomorrow evening," he then said and sighed before he took all his courage to finally ask his best friend. "I’ve thought about this quite often for the last two years, I guess. And I’m sure it’s the right time now. Lando, I thought that maybe, you would want to be my boyfriend?"

Felix looked his best friend straight in the eye. It was Orlando’s turn to blush again.

After some seconds of silence Orlando finally said yes and after he did so, he couldn’t stop saying it until Felix kissed him hungrily, feeling happier than he had ever been.

"And to celebrate this very moment," Orlando said smirking and took his mobile phone. It now played their song full volume in all its blurry quality through the room. Felix pulled Orlando up from the bed with a sheepish grin and they both danced to ‘Boys in the band’ until they let themselves fall to the floor, where they kissed and later had their first sex as a couple.


	11. Epilogue

They left Italy as a couple all cuddly and holding hands like all young lovers.

When they were home again, no one was surprised anymore.

They spent another night at the Weeks’ house and as they woke up from a very intimate and sporty night, they could finally tell them: „Yes, we’re a couple now!“ They got hugs and kisses on the cheek and another round of hugs and everyone was happy.

La Shark played another show, this time in London and the boys gladly went there, even buying tickets to support their friends. Gero spotted them in the crowd and he waved and made clear that he wanted to see them backstage. So they did when La Shark had left the stage for their first round of encore. They got sweaty hugs from their friends and of course they asked if they were a couple yet, and they said yes, finally.

„You have to sing with us again! Let’s play that ruddy Libertines song!,“ Gero said smiling and so they did and the crowd cheered for the happy couple especially when they ended up snogging each other senseless after the song.

Orlando decided to move in with Felix and his brother Hugo, since he didn’t want to stay in Brighton all on his own with nothing to do there and he didn’t want to live with his family for the rest of his life.

When they both went grocery shopping they remembered the incident with the condoms some time ago and they burst into laughter. Waiting in the queue to pay they took two packets of condoms, one for them obviously and the other one for Hugo, because he would definitely laugh at this anecdote, too. The people around them tried to ignore the two lovebirds, who of course acted all head over heels on purpose and even bumped into people ‘accidentally’ while snogging. The cashier gave them an amused look and the two men left still laughing.

Some weeks later Orlando and Felix spent a last weekend in Brighton before they would move Orlando’s stuff to London. They went to ‘The Freebutt’ again and asked the DJ to pretty please play ‘Boys in the band’. And he did. And they enjoyed the song like they had always done with screaming lyrics at each other, playing air guitar and all kinds of stupid dance moves and then they fell onto the sofa where they had first kissed and relived the memory.

A year later Hugo couldn’t stand living with the happy couple anymore, who had developed a kink for having sex everywhere but in their bed, and so Felix and Orlando looked for a new flat. They were in need of more space anyway, because Orlando wanted a room where he could draw and create any other kind of art. Their bedroom didn’t need to be huge, but their living-room should because it was supposed to be the room where they could play their instruments. When they finally found the perfect flat, they made sure their relationship was very clear so there wouldn’t be a problem with the landlady later. She seemed very content with the both of them and so they moved in only two weeks later.

To celebrate Orlando’s birthday they went back to his favourite Italian restaurant, though he wasn’t so fond of the food anymore since he had eaten all this lovely stuff in Italy. This time they wanted to be on their own and meet their friends later in a club. They had a comfy little table next to the window front reserved. The waiter lighted the candle and they ordered champagne. It felt like their first official date and they were a bit nervous but they didn’t hide their relationship. The waiter from years ago wasn’t working at the restaurant anymore but the one serving them was just as kind and kept smiling at them knowingly.

Felix wanted to go shopping with Orlando some days later and this time they didn’t want a shop assistant for help. Felix didn’t even want to try some clothes on, he simply grabbed some randomly and dragged his boyfriend into the changing room pushing him against the wall and kissing him longingly. They both giggled and only came out fifteen minutes later with ruffled hair and heavy breathing.

It was Felix’s birthday a month later and of course Orlando was invited to celebrate it with the whole White family. Felix hadn’t told his grandparents about his relationship with a boy yet and this was the right time do it. His grandfather just laughed about how he had always known and he hugged Orlando in a ‘Welcome to the family!’ kind of gesture. Felix was sure that this was the best birthday present he had ever gotten.

The relived their last memory of the previous awkward moments of not being a couple when they were at one of Robert’s parties again. They danced close to each other and never seperated their entwined fingers. As they ended up snogging on a sofa again, Robert’s sister Mary recognised them and she hugged them because she had always thought them to be a perfect couple.

Felix and Orlando just smiled at each other fondly because, yes, they knew they were perfect for each other and they couldn’t quite believe that they didn’t realise it right away.


End file.
